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The ‘Catch an Illegal Immigrant’ Game

By Lawrence Downes November 19, 2013 9:24 amNovember 19, 2013 9:24 am

John Van Beekum for The New York TimesThe Dreamers’ Moms group displayed an immigration reform banner in Miami on Oct. 24, 2013.

The chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Texas at Austin is planning on doing a silly thing on Wednesday. It has announced a game it calls “Catch an Illegal Immigrant,” in which students will walk around campus with the words “Illegal Immigrant” pinned to their clothing. People who spot and escort these students back to Y.C.T. will be given a $25 gift card. The organization says it means to provoke a thoughtful discussion of a hot-button issue, but that is just a straight-faced put-on for what is really a sophomoric provocation.

U.T. Austin’s president, Bill Powers, with the unanimous endorsement of the university Faculty Council, has denounced the game as “completely out of line with the values we espouse.” He urged the group to find some other way to make its point without demeaning others, including fellow students.

Which is fine. It’s good when responsible parties denounce the hateful idiocy on the fringe of the immigration debate, especially in a border state like Texas, whose Latino roots are deep and wide, and where cross-border migration is a matter of life and death.
But it’s wonderful when righteous anger finds a means of expression shrewder than outrage.

For that I give you Tony Diaz, a Texas-based activist behind the “Librotraficante” movement, which last year artfully protested a ban on Mexican-American studies in the Tucson public schools by “trafficking” books from the forbidden curriculum into Arizona.

His response to the game in Austin was to announce his own game, which he calls “You’re All Immigrants.”

“The descendants of Illegal Pilgrims are encouraged to pick up their ‘illegal immigrant’ sign and self-deport to the UT Young Conservatives and auto-collect the $25 rewards the UT Young Conservatives have offered,” Mr. Diaz’s announcement read.

He added: “I hope the students in the UT Young Conservatives club cashed their student loans, because there will be way more immigrants then they ever imagined.”

Mr. Diaz was already headed to Austin on a separate mission, to demand that Texas high schools place a greater emphasis on the study of Mexican-American history.

That history includes some inconvenient facts that the Young Conservatives in the Lone Star State may have overlooked, or never learned. It’s too bad, because they might otherwise have been more cautious about throwing around that “illegal immigrant” label. Especially in this month, when we all celebrate – with turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce – the first amnesty granted in this country to a group of brave, hopeful, uninvited, illegal newcomers, and the inspiring example that they set for the rest of us.

Tuesday, 11:28 a.m. | Updated
The Young Conservatives have canceled their “Catch an Illegal Immigrant” game planned for Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin. But Tony Diaz is sticking to his plan to bring his group MAS Texas to Austin to rally and to promote greater understanding of Mexican-American history and culture in the Lone Star State. (“MAS” means “Mexican-American Studies.” It’s also Spanish for “more.”)

Mr. Diaz writes: “MAS Texas will still rally at UT to promote Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, and GLBT Studies. We join all of those who were offended and shocked by this affront to understanding. This is the first step in building a larger coalition to foster the critical thinking needed to thrive in a multimedia and multicultural world.”

Mr. Diaz added: “This is a great example of how a life can be changed by taking a Mexican-American studies course or two.”